Kelly Clarkson Album Sales Drop Following Ron Paul Endorsement

Remember the sales spikeKelly Clarkson had following her Ron Paul endorsement? It turns out the Republican candidate may not make for ‘Stronger‘ sales. According to Billboard, Clarkson’s sales declined following her political tweets. Billboard debunked the myth that Clarkson’s political position aided her chart ones. According to Nielsen SoundScan data — as well as sources at Clarkson’s label, RCA — the ‘American Idol‘ alum’s sales actually dropped following the statements. The week ending Jan. 1, her sales declined about 40 percent. Its chart boost wasn’t due to higher sales, but simply a less steep drop compared to her competitors. The physical copies of ‘Stronger’ also saw a fall in Internet sales from 2,000 copies to a mere 600 — a 72 percent decrease. Ouch!

The mag notes, however, that Clarkson did see a rise in digital sales by a whopping 232 percent, but that political press likely wasn’t at play. What was? A sale price and front page promotion on iTunes, which was pushing her ‘iTunes Sessions‘ EP. Additionally, Amazon matched iTunes’ $7.99 price, allowing for both markets to sell more copies. Furthermore, Billboard notes that download sales typically rise the week after Christmas, because everyone is filling up the MP3 players and using the gift cards that were stuffed in their stockings.

Another factor for the download increase is Clarkson’s release of her second single, ‘Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)‘ to Top 40 radio. The success of Clarkson’s first single, ‘Mr. Know It All,’ is also still resonating on radio. The track is No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week on the Hot AC chart as well as resting at No. 13 on Mainstream Top 40.

Looks like Ron Paul himself wasn’t the only one who was confused. Hopefully he has a firmer grasp on his poll numbers than on Clarkson’s record sales.